PGMA's Speech during the 57th Commencement Exercises of the University of Mindanao

University of Mindanao Gymnasium, Matina District, Davao City (22 April 2003)

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte of Davao City. I would like to congratulate Mayor Duterte... take this opportunity to congratulate him for the solution to the heinous crimes of the bombing of the waiting shed outside the davao International Airport and the Davao wharf, a very quick solution under the leadership of the Crisis Manager Mayor Duterte. Congratulations!

Dr. Torres, President of the University of Mindanao, I congratulate you too for your leadership and your continuing concern that the University of Mindanao will always continue to be the bastion of knowledge and love for democracy that under your family's leadership it has acquired a reputation for.

Executive Vice President Pete San Jose. I'm very glad to see him here. I first met him as Vice Governor of the Province of Davao Del Norte and later on when I was Vice President, I had the privilege of granting him and his family the award of model family of the Philippines.

Dr. Ester Ggarcia, the Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education; Dr. Paderanga, Commissioner for Region xi; the deans of the different colleges; the members of the board of trustees; aton mga graduates karong adlawa; ila mga ginikanan, mga kauban, mga pariente, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Maayong buntag kaninyong tanan.

Ug sa aton mga graduates, ang akong pag-abe-abe sa inyo pag-graduate karong adlawa.

This is a very important point in your lives. It is a turning point in your lives. Now, even as we thank your teachers for their lectures. Now, you are no longer going to rely on them for their lectures. Now, you are going to be the speakers for and the authors of your own future.

Mao'y panahuna aron magpasalamat sa inyohang mga ginikanan ug sa tanang mga miyembro sa komunidad sa university of mindanao -- ang mga administrator, manunudlo, mga empleyado. Natabang sila kaninyo so that you could pursue academic excellence and social relevance. They had been your stewards, sila nahimo inyohang mga pareha.

Karon nahuman na ang inyong edukasyon, ang labi nga importante nga parte sa inyong edukasyon. Ang edukasyon ang dako nga mopalibre sa katawhan ug sa komunidad. And here in the University of Mindanao, as I have been able to observe and know them throught the years, this is a protector of human freedom. And as a university, it is supposed to teach you not only how to earn a living but how to free your mind from fear and ignorance. Human freedom is a moral and political right. And the enemy of human freedom is fear and ignorance. Ang inyohang degree karon mopalibre kaninyo, it will free you from ignorance. Now, as authors of your own future, now you must be part of the national effort to free ourselves, our nation from fear -- from the fear of terrorism, from the fear of deadly diseases like the Sars.

Ang inyohang kaugalingong siyudad dili nalibre sa mga atake ug terorista. We have had an extended terrorist alert that was punctured by two bombings here in this city. I have congratulated Mayor Duterte because of his quick solution in identifying and having arrested the perpetrators of the crime. But as he told us last night, that is only the beginning of his work because until the masterminds are brought to justice, we continue to live in fear. And we must all work together to achieve this objective of bringing the terrorists masterminds to justice.

Ang terorismo mao'y labi nga kalaban nga gitubangan nato karon diri dili la sa davao kundili sab sa tibuok mindanao. In fact, sa tibuok Pilipinas apan labi na diri sa Mindanao.

In our search for peace, there is no role for terrorism. Such acts must be universally condemned. And we must prepare always to fight the terrorists. Diri sa Mindanao ang atong labi na simbolo ug terorismo mao ang Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf group is now in disarray as a result of the intensified pursuit and rescue operations of our governments. The latest hostages escaped from the clutches of the Abu Sayyaf after almost a year in captivity. We have yet to rescue the two more hostages as we have yet to bring the masterminds of the Davao bombings to justice. we hope to crush the bandit groups that perpetrated the hostage-taking in Basilan and Sulu as well as the bandit groups that masterminded the Davao bombings. These will come in due time. There will be no letdown in our operations against the Abu Sayyaf and other terrorist groups as may be identified with firmness. And we will not negotiate with terrorists who are doing terrorists acts. We will continue to step up our efforts against all terrorists groups and as far as the Abu Sayyaf is concerned and all other terrorist groups that we have to fight, the U.S. will provide assistance in terms of anti-terrorism training.

There is no sense in speculations that Sulu will be a new battlefront involving U.S. troops: firstly, no such troops will be offensively engaged at any time in the training exercises. They will not even accompany our troops at the battleground; secondly, the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu are already on the run and our own troops are already winning the fight; thirdly, this is not a scenario being forced upon the people. military and local oficials have been in close coordination for sometime now and have ironed out the issue with local residents. American soldiers will not land and shoot. They will come, and they have come, to share knowledge with our troops and civic projects with our communities.

Ang terorismo usa ka transnational crime ug kinahanglan ang transnational effort, mao sab ang sars. Sars is a transnational menace and the most effective way to defeat it is through a transnational effort.

We shall join other Asean leaders next week in sharing best practices, common policies and procedures to check SARS across borders. We can see now that no nation can fence itself from this threat. Meanwhile, we have to thoroughly investigate all reported or suspected incidents or cases and we shall attend to them. Mao kauban sa ato extended alert in this past few weeks, an extended alert for terrorism, an extended alert for SARS. And as the Iraq war was raging, as the Iraq war heightened tensions, the threat of SARS cut in and required another layer of vigilance.

Ang atong kinahanglan mahimo, inform the public and the world of the facts as they emerge. As our containment measures are stepped up to a higher level, bisan wala pa ang sars diri sa davao -- it spreads very fast -- and I ask you, dear graduates and your families, to strictly follow the rules of quarantine being imposed by the Department of Health.

Kagabii, kauban ko ang regional director sa Department of Health, and she knows, she has been informed that i have instructed the secretary of health to upgrade the facilities to fight SARS not only in the San Lazaro Hospital in Metro Manila, not only in the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Metro Manila, but we must have world class SARS facilities in the cities of Olongapo, Cebu and Davao City. Government agencies are already addressing the problem in full force. I have allocated one billion pesos as standby fund to fight sars because the world still does not know when the scourge will end. And your regional director of DOH told me that to put up a negative pressure Chamber in Davao City to attend to any case of SARS that might emerge, she will need 2.7 million pesos. A small amount that will make you, the young people and even the older people of the Davao City and Davao provinces, more confident that we can fight SARS together if ever it should come to davao. We will follow up each suspected case and see to it that the people are fully informed of developments.

As we go about addressing the transnational scourges of terrorism and a deadly epidemic, we will continue to open more avenues for peace and development, which are our ultimate goals. After this graduation ceremony, I shall proceed to Pikit in Cotabato province to check on the conditions of peace and development that the evacuees need to return to their villages.

Jobs are our main concern. I know right now they are your main concern. Jobs are our country's main concern. Jobs for the evacuess of Pikit and other victims of war. Jobs for 3.6 million individuals currently unemployed, and jobs for the estimated 365,000 new graduates, including yourselves, dear graduates, who are qualified to join our workforce.

Three weeks ago when graduation season started, the Department of Labor launched a jobs fair at SM Megamall in Mandaluyong. This jobs fair will last until school starts again in June. Over there in that jobs fair in Mandaluyong in Metro Manila, there are 100,000 jobs available. So I have instructed the DOLE also to organize a similar jobs fair here in Davao City. On May 1, which is Labor Day, we will begin a jobs fair in Davao City. Davao city will offer 2,000 jobs from 20 overseas recruiters and seven local companies. The same kind of jobs fair in Davao will start, as I said, on Labor Day, May 1. So if by May 1, you are still jobless -- and I hope many of you will have jobs already by May 1 -- but for those of you who are still jobless, please attend the jobs fair in SM Davao City on May 1. On top of the jobs fair, we will have medical and legal assistance, livelihood opportunities and a demonstration of skills in SM Davao. Any of you don't find a job even there on may 1, I'd like you to know that from May 15 to June 10, we will still have a continuing jobs fair in SM Davao. And I am sure the graduating students of Uuniversity of Mindanao will be as qualified, maybe even more qualified than other job applicants who will go to those jobs fairs.

I am engaging in these practical activities because i want your future to be not one of great peril but one of peace and development, one characterized by a strong republic. And as you are now authors of your future, my dear graduates, you face the challenge of upholding your very worthy alma mater, also as equally worthy and productive citizens willing to help build that Strong Philippine Republic.

Sa gihapon, mga graduating students karon nga adlawa, akon dako nga pag-abe-abe kaninyong tanan. Akon dako nga pagpasalamat sa inyohang mga ginikanan sa ilang sakripisyo aro maka-graduate kamo diri sa University of Mindanao. And indeed, may this begin to be the beginning of the best years of your lives. Lives that will be, lives of productivity, freedom and great responsibility in contributing to strenghtening our Philippine nation.

Daghan salamat ug congratulations kaninyong tanan.  

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